Looking For the Son

Imagine, if you will, a huge grid laid out upon a wall. On the left-hand side, listed from top to bottom are the months of the year, while the days of the month are posted in ascending order from left to right across the bottom. At each space inside the grid is posted a picture of the sunrise on that day of the year. It was a showstopper of a display, filling us with wonder at the results of the photographer’s personal challenge to snap a picture of the sunrise each day. Not just for one year… but for five years, going on six, Bugsy Sailor was ready every morning, camera in hand, to document the moment the sun broke over the horizon.  

He couldn’t always see it. Understandably some days were cloudy, stormy, or foggy at the moment of sunrise. But the point is that he was there and snapped a picture, whether the sun was visible or not.

It was fun to pick a date and locate the photograph for that day and year combo. On the back of each picture he answered three questions: 1) Where was the picture taken? 2)What was the weather like?, and 3) Did the sun rise?

I loved the fact that the answer to Question #3 was always “Yes”. Whether he could see it or not, Bugsy knew that yes, the sun did indeed rise.

Perhaps after the loss of your spouse you have wondered if the sun would ever shine on your future again. Maybe  you can’t imagine what the days ahead will look like without the love of your life walking beside you. Surely for many, the plans and expectations for your future years will have to be changed or rearranged. I guess that’s what so impressed me with this man’s mission. When the night was dark around him, he rose and went looking for the sun.

I found the discovery of Bugsy Sailor’s personal challenge so inspiring that I adopted it myself. I am not a photographer, and I don’t usually see the physical rising of the sun over the horizon. Rather, I experience the spiritual rise of the Son in my heart during my devotional time at the same hour each morning, and I document the event in my subsequent journal entries.  

And I have discovered the same thing he did – that no matter what I’m facing each day, be it fun and adventure, or uncertainty and difficulty, the Son always rises. And making the effort to rise and look for Him at an early hour of the morning enables me to face the rest of the hours of the day, and even an uncertain future, with peace and joy.

After 1718 consecutive mornings, Bugsy missed the sunrise on Day #1719. A dead phone battery kept his alarm from going off and he overslept. Can you imagine his despair? In that instant he faced a serious moment of decision. Should he pack it all up and be done with the project… or continue on? I love the fact that he simply got up the next morning and was back at it again.

We, too, for whatever reason, will have mornings when we fail to look for the Lord. The important thing is not that our “streak” remains unbroken, but that we get up again the next day and the next and the next. Life is better when we make the effort to look for the Son.

Bugsy challenges each of us to see more sunrises this year than we did last year. He says, “Most importantly, remember no matter how cloudy the day, or the adversity you face, the sun still rises.”

That’s good news for me and you. The Bible says it, too: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:13-14 NIV, emphasis mine).

When life is at its darkest, God’s Word still holds true.

Answer in the Affirmative!

 

It’s a simple choice.

It started with the purchase of a necklace… the word ”YES” stamped in a silver circle... bought after a crisis of faith I experienced when my husband passed away despite prayers and pleas and his firm belief that he would be healed. It took a couple of months, but God and I eventually came to an understanding about what had happened, and I wore the word after that as affirmation of my decision to trust Him no matter what circumstances I found myself in and whether or not I understood His decisions in the same.

More time passed, and as I looked ahead to the future as a single person I realized it was important for me to say yes to new experiences and opportunities if I wanted to live a life that was vibrant and full. My approaching retirement only amplified this decision; I simply didn’t want to sit on my couch all day and waste away.

That doesn’t mean it was always easy. An introvert by nature, I can happily entertain myself  without adding a whole lot of other humans and outside activities into the equation. My job provided plenty of social interaction by day, allowing me to be a happy homebody at night. But in its absence I knew I would have to push myself to engage with the world outside the walls of my home or else become the sad and lonely recluse I was anxious to avoid. And everywhere I turned it seemed I came up against another article or news program that emphasized the need to try new things and stay socially active to keep one’s brain sharp as the aging process progressed.

And so I started to push myself, saying yes to invitations to dinner with a friend when I’d rather stay home and watch a ballgame and knit. I obeyed the urging of my pastor to meet regularly with a fellowship group at church, and followed the suggestion of friends to hang out with some of the ladies at the yarn shop. Soon I’d made plans to swim at the gym occasionally instead of exercising solely by myself at home, to volunteer my services at a place or two I’d never had time to investigate before… to finally learn the language of my Italian ancestors… and then travel to their native land, as well!

Recently I watched an episode of the TV show, Grace and Frankie, in which Frankie fondly remembers her “Say Yes” date nights with her ex-husband, Saul… recalling how once they left the house they had to answer every question put to them in the affirmative, no matter what crazy situations they found themselves in as a result! I almost feel sometimes that God and I have added similar moments now to our relationship…  where I simply say yes to whatever opportunity He puts in front of me, knowing that I can trust Him to have only my best interests at heart and that He will work all things out to my good.

So when the question of going to Africa arose, I knew I’d say yes… despite my hesitation over the many unknowns, the travel hassles I knew we’d face, and the fears and difficulties I was sure would arise. And it turned out to be one of the greatest adventures of my life to date.

On our last day before beginning the long journey back home, we stopped at a gift shop and I bought a simple ring in the shape of Africa. I wore it proudly for several months, considering it almost a merit badge of sorts, for having said yes to an opportunity, and then having the experience of a lifetime as a result. I only took it off when I replaced it with the ring I bought on the next adventure!

Those of us who are without our husbands today should remember that the wonder of the marriages we mourn began when we said yes to the wedding question posed to us. It's important to note that the adventures of life didn't suddenly come to an end when our husband's life did, although it may seem so at first. Eventually we come to realize that there is still so much joy ahead of us! Widowhood has a wonder of its own if we dare to embrace the unknowns and believe God when He promises us that we won't travel through it alone.  

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. " 

(Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV)